A study by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute (MPI) says that immigrant graduates in the US, including Indians, are more likely to be better educated and earn more compared to their American-born peers with college degrees.
There is a greater likelihood of college-educated immigrants in the US to have advanced degrees and major in STEM and health fields than their US-born peers with college degrees.
60 percent of immigrant college graduates according to the study have at least a master’s degree versus 53 percent of the college-educated US-born with fifty-one percent of immigrants’ degrees being concentrated in the high-demand STEM and health fields versus a mere 36 percent in those held by the US-born.
Two-thirds of immigrants in the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) sample earned their highest degree in the US which has enabled the average monthly earnings of immigrant college graduates to exceed those of US-born graduates.
Full-time, college-educated immigrant workers’ monthly earnings of $7,140 are higher compared to their US-born counterparts at $6,500.
Despite these largely favorable outcomes, one-fifth of immigrant college graduates see their skills underutilized, said the study targeting the 25-65 age group.
About two million college-educated immigrants in the US, MPI estimated, working in jobs that required no more than a high school degree or were unemployed as of 2019.
This is due mainly to lower levels of English proficiency, licensing barriers, limited social and professional networks, and other issues.
Immigrants’ literacy, numeracy, and digital skills are also likely to play a role, added the study.
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